Baton Rougeans can now take home bottles of wine and beer growlers from area restaurants and bars.
The Metro Council on Wednesday altered the city-parish’s open container law to allow for the sale of beer growlers and permit re-corking of unfinished bottles of wine for patrons to take home.
The amendment, as introduced by Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso in November, was approved unanimously without discussion at Wednesday’s Metro Council meeting, which marked the last time the council meets before new members are sworn in on Jan. 2.
“This should be able to help small businesses, that’s my intent,” said Amoroso, providing the lone comment on the proposal before its approval.
The change will allow for the transport of capped growlers that hold up to two liters of beer. Amoroso has described it as “a common sense piece of legislation” that he’s been considering since his tenure on the city-parish’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the council approved a spending plan for $11.1 million in federal dollars the city-parish is receiving for flood recovery. The money is to be used for housing rehab and reconstruction, rental rehabs and leasing, helping the homeless, and title assistance so affected homeowners can qualify for federal assistance.
A more detailed plan on how the money will be presented to the council in late February or early March, said Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel.
According to a report, about $3.7 million would be used for housing repairs and assistance, and another $3.7 million would be used for rental assistance. At least $500,000 is being set aside for title assistance, while $1 million would go toward homeless assistance and $2.2 million for administrative costs.
The council also heard several reports at its meeting on Wednesday, including an update on the police body camera program, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s end-of-the-year report and a report on the status of a community conversations on policing.
—Alexandria Burris
